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June 10, 2015 Airdrie, Alberta RCMP File: P-2015-03517

Steven Morgan, P.Eng. Director General Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada 30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3 Dear Mr. Morgan:

RE: RCMP SAY THERE IS NO FIREARMS INTEREST POLICE (FIP) DATABASE? Since you last wrote on March 26, 2015 (copy attached), I have received a disturbing letter from the RCMP in response to my Personal Information Request requesting "any record with my name in the Firearms Interest Police (FIP) Database." On April 28, 2015, the RCMP sent me a letter asking for my date of birth which I supplied immediately via e-mail. On May 21, 2015, I received a letter from the RCMP stating: "Unfortunately, the RCMP does not have an [sic] FIP database, therefore we were unable to locate records which respond to your request." This response seemed very odd considering that the RCMP Commissioner of Firearms recently tabled his report for 2013 in Parliament. Table 9 of his report records 115,878 Firearms Interest Police(FIP) reports were "automatically generated and sent to the relevant CFO for review." (see link below). If the RCMP Commissioner of Firearms doesn't have an FIP database where does the Commissioner get this information for his report to Parliament? I followed up with the RCMP ATIP branch by e-mail on May 21, 2015 (see copy of our exchange attached). I asked, "But if the FIP flags are incorrect, as was found by the Library of Parliament, the Privacy Commissioner and the Auditor General, how does the person who has been the subject of an FIP flag ever know they've been flagged and given the opportunity to correct any mistakes sent to the Chief Firearms Officers and likely uploaded on CPIC? On May 25, 2015, RCMP ATIP Officer Mark Maidment responded: "I agree with you on this Dennis. Erroneous flags can be very harmful to law abiding people. To my knowledge there is no avenue to correct them which should be addressed at some level." I simply don't understand how this FIP issue, a privacy problem that has been so clearly identified, has been allowed to continue for so long without corrective action being taken by government officials and recommendations from your office and the Auditor General being ignored.

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Sincerely, [Original signed by] Dennis R. Young 1330 Ravenswood Drive SE Airdrie, Alberta T4A 0P8 Phone: 587-360-1111 E-Mail: dennisryoung@telus.net cc The Auditor General of Canada The Information Commissioner of Canada

THE 2013 COMMISSIONER OF FIREARMS REPORT http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/rep-rap/2013-comm-rpt/index-eng.htm

CONTINUOUS ELIGIBILITY SCREENING OF FIREARMS LICENCE HOLDERS Excerpt: If a licence holder is involved in an event involving violence (or other offences specified in Section 5 of the Firearms Act) reported via the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), a Firearms Interest Police (FIP) report is automatically generated and sent to the relevant CFO for review. TABLE 9: Number of FIP Events by Province/Territory (2013) TOTAL = 115,878

OFFICE OF THE PRIVACY COMMISSIONER OF CANADA Letter sent by Mr. Radwanski to Mr. Breitkreuz on January 17, 2003 Re: Continued errors in the gun registry's FIP database https://www.priv.gc.ca/media/le_cfp_030117_e.asp

2002 DECEMBER REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF CANADA Chapter 11—Other Audit Observations Royal Canadian Mounted Police—Canadian Firearms Program Information to screen applicants for firearms licences may not be accurate http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_200212_11_e_12405.html#ch11hd3c OFFICE OF THE PRIVACY COMMISSIONER OF CANADA Review of the Personal Information Handling Practices of the Canadian Firearms Program Department of Justice Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Final Report - August 29, 2001 https://www.priv.gc.ca/information/fr_010813_e.asp#toc MP GARRY BREITKREUZ NEWS RELEASE NOVEMBER 3, 1999 RCMP F.I.P. DATA BANK BIG STEP TOWARDS A POLICE STATE "Even witnesses and victims of crime have been added to the new police data bank." http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/breitkreuzgpress/Fire53.htm

E-MAIL FROM RCMP ATIP BRANCH - MAY 25, 2015

NO FIREARMS INTEREST POLICE (FIP) DATABASE?

From: Mark Maidment [mailto:Mark.Maidment@rcmp-grc.gc.ca] Sent: May-25-15 11:52 AM

To: Dennis Young Subject: RE: RCMP File: P2015-03517 - Who controls the FIP Database?

I agree with you on this Dennis. Erroneous flags can be very harmful to law abiding people. To my knowledge there is no

avenue to correct them which should be addressed at some level.

Regards,

Mark

>>> "Dennis Young" <dennisryoung@telus.net> 2015/05/25 1:44 PM >>>

Thanks for trying to help Mark but if the FIP flags are incorrect as was found by the Library of Parliament, the Privacy Commissioner and the Auditor General, how does the person who has been the subject of an FIP flag ever know they've been flagged and given the opportunity to correct any mistakes loaded on CPIC? I think I'll let the Privacy Commissioner, Information Commissioner and the Auditor General address this problem. Dennis From: Mark Maidment [mailto:Mark.Maidment@rcmp-grc.gc.ca] Sent: May-25-15 6:00 AM

To: Carina Funicelli; Dennis Young

Cc: Serge Lauzon Subject: Re: Carina: RCMP File: P2015-03517 - Who controls the FIP Database?

Good morning Mr. Young,

The RCMP does not have a specific database for FIP. The way I can explain it is that when a person is suspected of a crime

of violence then a "Firearms Interest to Police" flag is associated to that person's CPIC entry. CFP - The Canadian Firearms

Program may be notified of this so that if down the road this person applies for a Firearms Licence they can research and

decide whether to issue one or not.

Think of your driver's licence where it would have eye colour "Brown" or "Blue". There is no database for "Brown" or "Blue"

it is part of the licence database. In this case, FIP is an entry in the CPIC database. The police use this "FIP" entry to help

them be more alert to a person's past dealings.

Furthermore, from an ATIP perspective, as we vet file here if we see there is a "FIP" entry - we remove that under

Paragraph 22(1)(b) of the Privacy Act or it's equivalent in Access to Information. The reason is that "FIP" is there as a

technic to help police do their job in as safe as possible environment.

I hope this explains better than we did in our response to you in the letter.

Your quote below I've copied and pasted eludes to my response above.

CONTINUOUS ELIGIBILITY SCREENING OF FIREARMS LICENCE HOLDERS Excerpt: If a licence holder is involved in an event involving violence (or other offences specified in Section 5 of the Firearms Act) reported via the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), a Firearms Interest Police (FIP) report is automatically generated and sent to

the relevant CFO for review. TABLE 9: Number of FIP Events by Province/Territory (2013) TOTAL = 115,878

Regards,

Mark

Mark Maidment

Access to Information and Privacy Branch

RCMP MAILSTOP # 61

73 LEIKIN DR

OTTAWA ON

K1A 0R2

Tel/tél.: 613-843-6905

Fax/téléc.: 613-825-8221

>>> "Dennis Young" <dennisryoung@telus.net> 2015/05/23 1:41 PM >>>

Hi Carina: Please find attached Mark Maidment's response to my Personal Information Request (RCMP File: P2015-03517) stating: "Unfortunately, the RCMP does not have an (sic) FIP database, therefore we were unable to locate records which respond to your request." This response seems very odd considering that the RCMP Commissioner of Firearms recently tabled his report for 2013 in Parliament. Table 9 of his report records 115,878 Firearms Interest Police(FIP) reports were "automatically generated and sent to the relevant CFO for review." (see link below) If the RCMP Commissioner of Firearms doesn't have an FIP database where does he get this information for his report and could you direct me to the federal department or agency that does control the FIP database? BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Privacy Commissioner's Response - FIP Data Bank - March 26, 2015 https://nfa.ca/news/privacy-commissioners-response-fip-data-bank-march-26-2015 THE 2013 COMMISSIONER OF FIREARMS REPORT http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/rep-rap/2013-comm-rpt/index-eng.htm CONTINUOUS ELIGIBILITY SCREENING OF FIREARMS LICENCE HOLDERS Excerpt: If a licence holder is involved in an event involving violence (or other offences specified in Section 5 of the Firearms Act) reported via the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), a Firearms Interest Police (FIP) report is automatically generated and sent to the relevant CFO for review. TABLE 9: Number of FIP Events by Province/Territory (2013) TOTAL = 115,878 OFFICE OF THE PRIVACY COMMISSIONER OF CANADA Letter sent by Mr. Radwanski to Mr. Breitkreuz on January 17, 2003 Re: Continued errors in the gun registry's FIP database https://www.priv.gc.ca/media/le_cfp_030117_e.asp 2002 DECEMBER REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF CANADA Chapter 11—Other Audit Observations Royal Canadian Mounted Police—Canadian Firearms Program Information to screen applicants for firearms licences may not be accurate http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_200212_11_e_12405.html#ch11hd3c OFFICE OF THE PRIVACY COMMISSIONER OF CANADA Review of the Personal Information Handling Practices of the Canadian Firearms Program Department of Justice Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Final Report - August 29, 2001 https://www.priv.gc.ca/information/fr_010813_e.asp#toc MP GARRY BREITKREUZ NEWS RELEASE NOVEMBER 3, 1999 RCMP F.I.P. DATA BANK BIG STEP TOWARDS A POLICE STATE "Even witnesses and victims of crime have been added to the new police data bank." http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/breitkreuzgpress/Fire53.htm Thanks, Dennis Dennis R. Young Honourary Life Member of the CSSA and the NFA Member of the Calgary RCMP Veterans Association Airdrie, Alberta Phone: 587-360-1111 E-Mail: dennisryoung@telus.net

March 7, 2015 Airdrie, Alberta

Daniel Therrien, Commissioner Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada 30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3 Dear Mr. Therrien:

RE: RECOMMENDATIONS - FIREARMS INTEREST POLICE (FIP) DATA BANK? The RCMP Commissioner of Firearms recently tabled his report for 2013 in Parliament. Table 9 of his report records 115,878 Firearms Interest Police(FIP) reports were "automatically generated and sent to the relevant CFO for review." See link for this document below. In 1999, the Library of Parliament reported the following problems with the FIP Data Bank: 1. "The reliability of this system depends on the information that is being kept in the files of the different police agencies across the country." 2. "It should be noted that all police agencies have their own procedures for their files and how events get coded. This means that a similar event that occurs in two different locations may be coded differently. In such a case, one of the events might end up being linked to the F.I.P. file while the other is not." 3. "Another consequence of the different procedures used by police agencies across Canada is that, in some cases, individuals who are not a safety concern will be linked to the F.I.P. data base. For example, in some agencies all of the names in a file are linked to the ORI code. Therefore, a person who is a witness to an offence or even the victim of an offence may have their name in the F.I.P data base because their name was linked to one of the codes which fell under the selection criteria pursuant to section 5 of the Firearms Act." 4. "If the individual wished to obtain the information contained in the police agency’s file, a second privacy request would have to be made to this agency. Depending on the agency, this might require a privacy request under provincial privacy legislation." [Emphasjs added] See link to this document below. In 2001, Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski made the following recommendation regarding the FIP Data Bank: "Mechanisms should be in place to ensure that individuals have easy access to FIP records and the ability to correct or place a notation to file relating to disputed FIP entries." [Emphasis added] See link to this document below. In 2002, Auditor General of Canada Sheila Fraser reported the following concerns regarding the FIP Data Bank: 11.30 In November 1998 and March 2000, the Senior Executive Committee of the RCMP was informed that officers responsible for the RCMP's contributions to the Firearms Interest Police database had serious concerns about the accuracy and completeness of the information. We reviewed RCMP files and made other inquiries to confirm the significance of these concerns.

11.31 An April 2001 RCMP review of data quality stated that: • persons are known to be in the database who should not be, and thus could be denied firearms licences or have their eligibility reviewed; and

• some persons who should be in the database are not and these individuals could be issued licences and subsequently use firearms to commit a violent offence. The review concluded that a tragic incident could arise as a consequence of the poor data quality and that the RCMP therefore faces serious legal risks.

11.32 In 2002, the RCMP further indicated that the quality of the data was still questionable. [Emphasis added] See link to document below.

In 2003, in response to a request for a status report from MP Garry Breitkreuz's office, Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski stated: "I have reviewed Chapter 11 of the Auditor General's Report, which dealt with the Firearms Interest Police (FIP) database operated by the RCMP for the Firearms Program. Many of the systemic problems noted by the Auditor General with FIP record inaccuracies were previously outlined in my "Firearms Report" of August 2001. At that time, I had noted problems of individuals being improperly flagged in FIP, while other individuals who should have been flagged were not. For FIP to be an effective early warning flag for potential violence, it is vital that police officers keep their incident reports accurate and up-to-date regarding the status of persons responsible for incidents covered by section 5 of the Firearms Act. Moreover, the Privacy Act requires that information collected for an administrative purpose be up to date and as accurate as possible. To date, the department has not implemented my recommendations, nor has it provided any of the progress reports I have requested." [Emphasis added] See link to document below.

I respectfully request an update from your office on any progress that has been made over the last ten years with respect to implementing the recommendations made by your office; thereby, correcting the errors in and improving access to the FIP Data Bank, especially those who have done nothing wrong and have been entered in the database by mistake.

Sincerely, [Original signed by] Dennis R. Young 1330 Ravenswood Drive SE Airdrie, Alberta T4A 0P8 Phone: 587-360-1111 E-Mail: dennisryoung@telus.net cc The Auditor General of Canada

THE 2013 COMMISSIONER OF FIREARMS REPORT http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/rep-rap/2013-comm-rpt/index-eng.htm

CONTINUOUS ELIGIBILITY SCREENING OF FIREARMS LICENCE HOLDERS Excerpt: If a licence holder is involved in an event involving violence (or other offences specified in Section 5 of the Firearms Act) reported via the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), a Firearms Interest Police (FIP) report is automatically generated and sent to the relevant CFO for review. TABLE 9: Number of FIP Events by Province/Territory (2013) TOTAL = 115,878

OFFICE OF THE PRIVACY COMMISSIONER OF CANADA Letter sent by Mr. Radwanski to Mr. Breitkreuz on January 17, 2003 Re: Continued errors in the gun registry's FIP database https://www.priv.gc.ca/media/le_cfp_030117_e.asp

2002 DECEMBER REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF CANADA Chapter 11—Other Audit Observations Royal Canadian Mounted Police—Canadian Firearms Program Information to screen applicants for firearms licences may not be accurate http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_200212_11_e_12405.html#ch11hd3c OFFICE OF THE PRIVACY COMMISSIONER OF CANADA Review of the Personal Information Handling Practices of the Canadian Firearms Program Department of Justice Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Final Report - August 29, 2001 https://www.priv.gc.ca/information/fr_010813_e.asp#toc MP GARRY BREITKREUZ NEWS RELEASE NOVEMBER 3, 1999 RCMP F.I.P. DATA BANK BIG STEP TOWARDS A POLICE STATE "Even witnesses and victims of crime have been added to the new police data bank." http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/breitkreuzgpress/Fire53.htm